642 TALKS ON " AT THE FEET OF THE MASTER "
than its' Creeds, and very many^ Christians have held
wider views than their Church authorities. I
myself was a priest of the Church of England. That
church formulates 'what it supposes to be the theory
of things in a certain production called ct The Arti-
cles of Religion ". I do not know whether any of
you have ever read them. If you have not, I should
advise you to do so. The clergy have to read them
and have to assent to them. But if you ask : c< How
am I to accept these Articles ? They are evidently
self-contradictory," you will be told that, at the
time when they were written, there were two irrecon-
cilable parties and something had to be said to please
them both. They say : " The Bishops and the rest
of us, we have all signed them, we have all taken
them in this philosophic way; and since we have
done so I think you may do so too." The young man
will probably say: tt Well, I suppose that, if you
assure me it does not mean anything, I may as well
accept it." But you know it is not quite dignified.
I have no objection to the Christian Creeds ; there
is a meaning underlying them, but it is not in the least
what the Christian thinks they mean. I do object to
the Thirty-Nine Articles and the Confession of Faith,
because with some most beautiful ideas they contrive
to intermingle others which are absolutely impossible.
If in the Catechism they had only stopped at the end
of the first question, "What is the chief end of
man ? " and the answer is " To glorify God and enjoy